History

Catcliffe is mentioned in the Domesday book, its name is presumed to mean the cliff where the cats live. In 1740 William Fenney established a glassworks here. The site was chosen, amongst other reasons, for being 10.5 miles away from Fenney's a glassworks in Bolsterstone, formerly owned by his mother-in-law—the terms of her will prevented him from setting up a glassworks within 10 miles of the town. One of the cones of this glassworks still exists and is the oldest surviving structure of its type in Western Europe. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

On 25 June 2007 the village was evacuated because of fears that cracks in the dam at Ulley reservoir could lead to widespread flooding in the valley.